"If you want to take the island, burn your boats and you will take the island." - Tony Robbins.

Though this is not any new formula. It is one of the most powerful and fundamental. Let's take a second and read that again. Let me tell you a story about how the famed explorer Hernando Cortez landed on the shores of Vera Cruz, Mexico and wanted his army to conquer the land for Spain. With so much to lose and very little resources, he did what his men would have never imagined. He asked his lieutenant to burn the boats, when his men were in the battlefield. He gathered them after the day's fight and told them one thing - " The boats are burned, the only way you will survive is by taking over the island." His men fought with all their heart to win and now we call this land - Mexico.

With intense pressure, changes happen. That's how diamonds are cut. What we need to understand is, committing to goals, vision, relationships and standards is crucial for success. When we don't give ourselves a way out we not only eliminate all possibilities of failures but we also commit to excellence and leave that as the only possible outcome.

In 2017, let's commit to burn our boats. Let's commit to excellence, lets commit to higher standards and let's commit to not giving up until we have reached our goal.

For tonight, we dine in hell, we raise a toast to bathe in blood, sweat and tears. We don't hope for things to happen. We make them happen by giving ourselves no way but to make it happen.